An Innocent Man
by The Redheaded Duck
Summary: Lucius and Corinne have been secretly dating for a month, but does she really trust him? Songfic to Billy Joel's "An Innocent Man"- written by Boomer! woot! RR!


Disclaimer: Not mine. This is another wonderful work of the infamous Lindsay, of "the Alyssa and Lindsay", (yes, THAT Alyssa and Lindsay"!) lol. Read and review! Songfic to Billy Joel's "An Innocent Man".

An Innocent Man

The party was wonderful. They always were. Corinne sat at the head table with her friends. She crossed her legs and felt the long silky black material of her dress swirl around her calves. The black set off her fire red hair which was swept up off her face. She looked classically beautiful, as they all did.

Her eyes wandered through the hall. The best families of the wizarding world were here. The people were impressive, but she found her eyes moving to the back of the room. There sat the only family that rivaled the girls' wealth. But their reputation was so tarnished that no one cared. Yet she still gazed into platinum solver eyes that belonged to none other than Lucius Malfoy.

He checked that no one from his family was watching him, then ran a hand through his white blonde hair and smiled at her. Her heart flipped over about 6,000 times as she smiled back.

She and Lucius had been dating secretly for a month. No one knew or had any idea. Not her family, not his, not even her friends.

He patted the empty seat next to him. She shook her head, "I can't", she mouthed. She glanced down her table. Lauren was arguing with Lindsay about something. Alyssa was gone, and Pam was burning napkins. Slowly, she moved her chair back, and snuck away without anyone realizing she was gone.

She hurried across the dance floor, her heels clicking, trying desperately not to fall in them, and fell into the chair next to Lucius.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked.

He covered her hand with his under the table, "Immensely. You look like a real drama queen in that outfit."

She smiled, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Well, you know what they say about Gryffindors, all bravery, no common sense."

She squeezed his hand under the table.

"Pam! What's going on with everyone!" Lauren shouted at the head table. A few minutes later she, Alyssa, and Lindsay all disappeared into a fireplace. Corinne wondered where they were going, but not enough to leave Lucius.

"Do you want to go outside?" he whispered to her.

She nodded. She stood up and walked out the doors, Lucius following behind her. The party was being held in her family's summer home in the south of England. Outside the door from the hall, Lucius meets her again and they walk down to the beach.

This far away from the hall, however, she felt fear creep into her system. Lucius was her boyfriend, yes, but she had a hard time overcoming her cold feelings toward his family. She knew he was feeling pressure from his father to join Voldemort. He had told her how Severus Snape had already joined and had the Dark Mark on his left forearm. He had trusted her with this information. He had _trusted _her. Why couldn't she trust him?

He tried to hold her hand when they reached the beach, but she pulled back. She couldn't get it out of her head. Beneath his expensive black robes, did he have a skull and serpent branded on his arm?

They sat on the sand and watched the waves roll in. Inside she was a conflict of emotions. She loved being with him, but would she be able to overcome her negative feelings for him?

She hadn't realized she had been staring at his left arm. All of a sudden he yanked up his sleeve.

"There, ok, there's no mark, now will you act normal please?" His arm was mark-less, and she immediately felt stupid.

"That wasn't bothering me," she mumbled, looking away.

"Of course it was! It's been bothering you since we started going out! You don't trust me!"

"Yes I do!"

"No, you DON'T!" he said, turning her face so he was looking in her eyes. He must have seen something in her eyes, because when he spoke it was nothing more than a whisper.

"_Some people stay away from the door_

_If there's a chance of it opening up_

_They hear a voice in the hall outside_

_And hope that it just passes by_

_Some people live with the fear of the touch_

_And the anger of having been a fool_

_They will not listen to anyone_

_Sp nobody tells them a lie_

_I know you're only protecting yourself_

_I know you're thinking of somebody else_

_Someone who hurt you_

_But I'm not above_

_Making up for the love_

_You've been denying you could ever feel_

_I'm not above doing anything_

_To restore your faith if I can_

_Some people see through the eyes of the old_

_Before they ever get a look at the young_

_I'm only willing to hear you cry_

_Because I am an innocent man!"_

Corinne realized that she had tears running down her cheeks. He reached up and wiped them away for her. It was times like these when she knew he couldn't be a Death Eater. Times when he would look into her eyes and tell her he wasn't. But when they got back to school and people, she lost her faith.

"I promise Corinne," he said.

She looked down. She couldn't believe.

"_Some people say they'll never believe_

_Another promise they hear in the dark_

_Because they only remember too well_

_They heard somebody tell them before_

_Some people sleep all alone every night_

_Instead of taking a lover to bed_

_Some people find that it's easier to hate_

_Than to wait, anymore_

_I know you don't want to hear what I say_

_I know you're gonna keep turning away_

_But I've been there and I can survive_

_I can keep you alive_

_I'm not above going through it again_

_I'm not above being cool for awhile_

_If you're cruel to me I'll understand_

_Some people run from a possible fight_

_Some people figure they can never win_

_And although this is a fight I can lose _

_The accused is an innocent man!"_

"I'm sorry," she said. She had tried so many times to get over it. She really had. She apologized with her eyes. His face was resigned in a look of sadness and rejection.

_"You know you only hurt yourself out of spite_

_I guess you'd rather be a martyr tonight_

_That's your decision_

_But I'm not below_

_Anybody I know_

_If there's a chance of resurrecting a love_

_I'm not above going back to the start_

_To find out where the heartache began_

_Some people hope for a miracle cure_

_Some people just accept the world as it is_

_But I'm not willing to lay down and die_

_Because I am an innocent man..." _

He squeezed her hand, stood up and started to walk away down the beach. She had seen the most horrible sadness in his eyes. He was so hurt and she was responsible. Her heart was breaking as she watched him walk away. That's when she realized he wasn't a Death Eater, and she had never thought he was. She was just afraid.

...And now he was walking away. But she loved him.... Did she just say that? She loved him? Did she? She saw his tall form and felt her stomach flip over and he heart drop. She loved the way his hair reflected the moonlight and they way his arms were always crossed over his chest. She did love him, and she loved him more than she had ever loved anyone before, and she had been afraid. Not of him, but of something greater and more powerful than she had ever experienced.

...And now he was walking away. She could stay hiding, and never know love for what it was, or she could meet it full in the face. She might get burned, but didn't all the stories say it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?

"Lucius wait!" she yelled, getting up. He turned to face her. She tripped over the hem of her dress getting up and stared running toward him. Her shoes got soaked when she got close to the water, and salt from the ocean stuck to her face. She tripped again as she got closer to him, but he caught her. She loved the arms that caught her too. She took strength in those arms before looking up at him.

"I love you," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"You see, I thought I didn't trust you, but I was being stupid, my mind was playing tricks on me, I really loved you, but I was scared. But now I know I was scared, so I'm not scared anymore. And I know I-

He put his hand over her mouth.

"You talk too much."

But he was smiling.


End file.
